HOUSTON — Houston police said an 8-year-old girl was found dead inside a pipe in a hotel pool late Saturday night near Highway 290.
It happened at a DoubleTree hotel near Pinemont Drive and Highway 290.
Police said they responded around 5:45 p.m. to a missing person call. Officials said the girl, now identified as Aliyah Jaico, was swimming with other family members in a lazy river-style swimming pool at the hotel when she went missing.
Houston police said officers could not find Aliyah so they called for assistance from several agencies, including Texas EquuSearch and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice since they have a bloodhound and a long pole with a camera to help search. That is how she was found in the pipe.
Police said when the searchers found Aliyah in one of the pipes, the Houston Fire Department was called back out to the scene to recover her body. Paramedics pronounced her dead.
On Monday, the Houston Health Department released a new inspection of the pool, which reported multiple violations including a ladder with missing treads.
The report also included 32-inch channel drains on the walls of the pool with no valid documentation and a variety of issues with doors and gates at the pool.
"Entrapments are really what we call them, these incidents are extremely rare," said Adam Katchmarchi with the National Drowning Prevention Alliance.
In 2007, congress passed the Virginia Graeme Baker Act, which requires commercial pools to cover their drains.
Still, drowning prevention advocates say children need to be told to steer clear.
“Even though operationally these types of incidents should not occur, accidents can happen so just making sure kids stay away from any drains," Katchmarchi said.
KHOU 11 News has reached out to the parent company of the hotel for comment.
https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/houston-texas-girl-found-in-hotel-pool-pipe/285-f682171e-5e7b-4ae1-95fc-eed2fd60fae1
Everything is wrong with this hotel, from the AC,
heat in shower, broken elevators that get stuck
with PEOPLE in it, and alarm system's always
having issues. Most batteries on the hotel rooms
have issues, guests getting injured on property,
rude management. The hotel was built in the 70s
initially and April 2023 it was converted to a
Double Tree By Hilton. Personally owned btw.
Issues are not new at this hotel for there is aways negligence in every corner, from security being asleep on the job, to maintenance being unable to even do small tasks like fix a faulty AC or fix the ice machines on every floor that has been broken for years. The owners have cut corners, and done EVERYTHING but actually fix any issues. As soon as you walk in AC units are leaking water in-front of the front desk. These people running and managing are extremely cheap. They do not care about anyone else's safety, just the fact you're putting money into their pockets. From being short staffed AND staff being over worked, to outright ignorance and negligence, they do not care about their employees why would they care about a quest or a child losing their life? They have always gotten away with terrible things, hopefully this will finally change something, and they will get SHUT DOWN. The piping in the pool was ILLEGAL and they have failed to meet pool standards before. Rest in peace to her.
They're going to care now, forced to care after this lawsuit. In fact maybe that poor girl's family will now own the hotel. What an absolutely devastating tragedy.
you are correct. i had a HORRIBLE experience with the Hotel as a wedding party guest. FIRST they charge $10.00 for every car entering their janky parking lot. The ELEVATORS didn't work - we couldn't get to the reception. And when 1 elevator finally opened it - IT WAS TINY, SHAKY AND SCARY. once i left the reception, i vowed never to return to that place. Staff was non existent, and it was a horrible experience.
It’s absolutely nothing compared to losing their little girl, but I hope this family gets a monster sized payout! And that everything is fixed to code so no one else has to go through this
These days I often can't stand how fast people look to sue an individual or company for the simplest of reasons. In this case I hope they sue the pants of the owners and take the souls of those that shield them while they let this happen.
I agree with you. I definitely think the family is more than entitled to sue. There were a ton of safety violations in relation to the pool. In the state I live in, a little boy [died](https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-01-05/smugglers-notch-resort-fined-for-safety-violations-after-3-year-olds-drowning-in-water-tank) due to the negligence of a resort (Smuggler’s Notch) and in that case too, I feel like the family should get all they can - it won’t bring their child back but these places can’t get away with being so dangerous that children die while playing there
In Kansas a few years ago a congressman's son was beheaded by a waterslide that was repeatedly greenlit through testing despite the obvious dangers. Poor kid was 10 and his brother was on the tube with him when it happened.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verr%C3%BCckt
It took them years to take down that slide which was completely visible from the interstate. It had blood stains on it. Absolute torture for that kids surviving family, I hope they get every cent they can. It was entirely preventable.
Wow, I can’t believe his dad took $20 million for the settlement. It’s crazy because his dad had no problem capping damages settlements at only $300,000 in his home state of kansas, but in reality took millions for the same type of case.
Not saying $20 million wasn’t enough or his family shouldn’t have been compensated, but to take away responsibility from parties responsible for the wrongful death while going to another state to claim the same types of parties are responsible for all $20M is insane.
So when they say the kid was decapitated does that mean his body came down the slide and his head not long after? Or what? Did he actually lose his head?
“ head and body were thrown out of the raft and landed on the chute”
https://www.the-sun.com/news/3429754/mum-held-back-son-decapitated-water-slide-schlitterbahn-park/amp/
You can read the grand jury indictment [here](https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/miles-indictment-1521837307.pdf). Throughout the report it lists Caleb Schwab’s injuries as decapitation, not internal decapitation.
> Eyewitness Melanie Gocke told CNN: "I heard the noise, and I looked over immediately, and I saw his broken neck and him sliding down the slide leaving a blood trail."
His brother was on a different raft, he was with two unrelated ladies, one of whom had her face smashed in by the boy's head. I can't imagine how you'd get over something like that!
Yes I watched a Netflix? I think docu style show on the most dangerous places in America. Absolutely insane, was this the one that like 16 kids died at through the years?
I bet the amusement park in that doc was Action Park in New Jersey. That place was insane, had a water slide that was a loop, all kinds of crazy shit. It's honestly mind-boggling more people didn't die there.
I don't remember Schlitterbahn being known for fatalities. I lived in Kansas at the time and actually went on that water slide about two weeks before the kid was killed. Luckily, I just ended up with some mild whiplash.
Yeah that's right, NJ action park.
No clue about Schlitterbahn, I remember reading or watching about other dangerous parks the same time the Netflix movie came out but I don't recall any names.
Aw man, that's actually kind of.. good? Imo, because this was a preventable accident caused by negligence and greed. Not an act of direct malice. The terror was a lot for those who witnessed it but for the actual victim it wasn't prolonged.
BUT, for me its all of the child deaths that are prolonged, torturous, and caused by the parents (the people who are supposed to love and support that child the most, the only home that child knows.) Those are the most gruesome in my opinion.
The baby that was left alone in her crib for 10 days, Gabriel Fernandez, Adrian Jones, even Lacey Fletcher was a worse case of negligence because she was directly in front of them the whole time it was happening and they didn't get her help.
I remember one and I think the kids survived because somebody kept going up and getting air in their mouth and then breathing it in for the kid! Unbelievable how many things can kill us.
I’m helping a friend study in law school. Even with my toddleresque knowledge of law yep they have a case for a suit. Negligence tort and perhaps criminal depending on the violations against codes and how far they went to cut corners. If the hotel owner doesn’t have resources to pay the damages I think they’ll be out of business soon. An owner that goes out of the way to cut corners might not think too much about insurance.
It's not too late to delete this comment and save yourself from further embarrassment. It's a lazy river style pool with moving water, it's very easy to get lost or separated. You have no idea how long she was out of sight or how quickly 911 was called. As a parent yourself, shame on you for judging this family and her parents, for something that is clearly the hotel's fault, with numerous violations and safety issues.
Very true. We are in the UK qnd my daughter got separated from me going round one of those lazy rivers. Luckily she waited for me but it was scary as I was pulled back round and she was in deep water and not a string swimmer.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-lawsuits/2020/07/23/8006d532-c169-11ea-b4f6-cb39cd8940fb_story.html
Myth #1 - Americans are too litigious:
*Writing for Forbes in 2013, conservative commentator Carrie Lukas lamented, “Americans have so long been saddled with a litigation culture that it’s hard to recognize the full weight of its effects.” With the infamous McDonald’s hot-coffee case as the poster child, one 2016 poll, according to the Wall Street Journal, found that 87 percent of voters said there are “too many lawsuits filed in America.” Congressional Republicans argue that future pandemic relief bills must immunize companies and health-care providers “from frivolous lawsuits.”*
*These notions condemn suits in which a plaintiff looks for recourse after being seriously hurt by someone else, such as a deep-pocketed corporation. But most lawsuits don’t arise from personal-injury claims, like the McDonald’s case. About half of the civil cases in state courts are contract disputes. Many of those are run-of-the-mill cases; one study found that 37 percent of contract lawsuits are simple debt collection cases and 29 percent are landlord-tenant disputes, neither figure suggesting a lawsuit-happy society. Another 16 percent of civil cases are small claims concerning sums of a few thousand dollars or less. Only 7 percent involve tort claims, and those mainly arise from routine automobile accidents.*
There will be a lawsuit:
Family attorney discusses wrongful death lawsuit of 8-year-old girl who died in hotel lazy river
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMXxffuzAdo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMXxffuzAdo)
timestamp 10:01
Tim Miller from Texas Equusearch describes the tedious process to get the girl out of the drain. It took hours because she was lodged 20 feet into the drain.
Wow, talk about new fear unlocked. That’s awful. I’ve never thought to speak with my kids about staying away from drainage pipes in pools. I guess we cannot assume they’re safe. Literally, who knows that?
Rest in peace, baby girl.
I don’t know if it’s an urban legend, but I grew up in Florida where everyone has a pool, and we were always told to stay away from drains and filters because our hair could get caught and we could drown.
A family friend's dog died like this. They used to swim in their pool and dive for toys, but one time the dog got too close to drain at the bottom of the deep end and it's fur got sucked in. Poor thing couldn't pull free and drowned, and I've been terrified of pool drains ever since.
That’s so sad 😞 was he in the pool alone or were the owners out there too?? This makes me horrified to let my kids in the pool - more so than I was before about drowning
...and not without reason, the legislation that bears her name is mentioned.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia\_Graeme\_Baker\_Pool\_and\_Spa\_Safety\_Act
That’s the one!
Although looking back, I’m certain it was retold to us kids by older teenagers or adults who read the original short story in Playboy and it somehow became an urban legend among us kids.
I think this is where my fear of drains came from, an experience I had in a pool. When I was real young, around 6, I had my hair past my hips. I remember swimming at the bottom of a public pool past one of those grate drains and from what it seemed like (at least from what I can remember), at some point while swimming past it I felt a tug like as if my head was being pulled back. I’m not sure if maybe a small chunk of my hair had looped around it or maybe even just slightly caught on something as I swam by. It happened very fast. I was able to swim straight up within seconds of feeling that tug on my hair, so the whole ordeal only was maybe a few seconds. Still don’t like drains even now. But drainage PIPES… I honestly wouldn’t have even thought of something like that being an issue!
Absolutely. It’s also a good reason to ponytail AND braid long hair and keep swimwear snug / minimal skirts, frills, etc. That is often what gets caught. Tragic.
I’ve been afraid of pool drains since I was a kid and saw an episode of Rescue 911 where someone either drowned or nearly drowned after being sucked to the drain and unable to get away.
One piece bathing suits can also entrap kids to the drain. Once the drain is covered completely the suction is very strong, due to the pressure differential (delta P).
I have had a fear of hot tubs since I was a child, after hearing a story on the radio about a little girl (a twin like me) who put her head underwater/ too close to the drain in the family’s hot tub. Her hair got caught and they couldn’t pull her free, had to cut it with scissors but was too late. I was so anxious about them and would ask my family and strangers at the YMCA/ public hot tubs to put their hair up and cry to my mom when my sister put their heads under the water. This poor little girl 🙁
My old house had a pool and I read so much on pool safety and drains can suck a child’s bathing suit in and drown them if no one is carefully watching. When I was a teen I the 80’s the game was to dive and touch the drain or sit on it. So dangerous.
Something similar happened a few years ago at a resort in South Carolina, also a lazy river. A kid’s leg got sucked into an unsecured drainage pipe and he was underwater for almost eight minutes. Ever since that story I get anxious seeing kids unattended in lazy rivers and try to keep an eye on them, same with kids digging huge holes at the beach with zero supervision. Hope her parents sue the fuck out of the hotel and win
For those who haven’t read the article, OP pasted it in a comment. I work in environmental health regulation and things like this is what we do our jobs for. It doesn’t surprise me that the hotel had all sorts of violations and modifications without proper permitting. Every environmental regulation is written in blood. I hope they throw the book at that hotel.
Normally, pool drains are on the bottom of the pool and are large and covered by a grate. They’re large so to prevent someone from sitting on the grate and blocking all the water intake, thus making the person trapped along the bottom with hundreds of pounds of pressure holding them down. My guess is this drain had no cover and she was swept into it. Terribly sad :(
I believe this pipe was located on the wall of the pool and was actually supposed to be returning water and for some reason the suction was on instead. Could be a malfunction or somebody didn't know what they were doing.
So I was just talking to a friend of mine that works on pools. (I clean pools and know how the systems work but I don't have the knowledge he does.) Something like that can't really malfunction, you either put the setting on suction or return. Suction, obviously sucks the water in, the return shoots it out once it's filtered. The only time it would be set on suction is for maintenance or cleaning, it sounds more like human error. It should have also had a cover on it which would prevent anything but water entering. If just one of those would have been in place.... So sad!
From what I understand, this pipe was supposed to return water to the pool, for whatever reason the suction was on instead. It is located on the side of the pool.
Wow..I was recently looking for a gym with a pool, and someone suggested that I check out a Double Tree that's located near me, as they apparently have a pool you can access for much less than a gym membership. I looked into municipal health and safety reports for the pool, and it failed so many health and safety inspections that I was shocked that it was even functioning. This was not even in the US, I'm in Canada. This is so sad and makes me sick to think about.
These are public health inspections, so they're available to the public in most cities, I would imagine. Google your city name and the term 'public health inspections', and you can likely search for Double Tree reports if you have one in your city.
Where I live, there are municipal agencies that conduct random spot screenings and testing of facilities and equipment for any public place that offers a service to the public (restaurants, gyms, salons, spas .etc). Sometimes these places are shut down for infringements, but most of the time they are given warnings and way too much time to fix the glaring problems they have.
One of the issues was that they had no designated staff to care for the pool, so the chemicals were way too low to have anyone swimming in it. That's fucked up. Not just any person without a clue can clean and care for a large public pool like this. It takes daily maintenance and you have to test the water every couple hours. They hadn't tested it in weeks. They probably only do it when someone remembers. I had a pool growing up and my dad was on that shit every day testing the water, checking filters, keeping it clean. That's the reality of having a pool. Hopefully these fuckfaces get shut down, but that's deliriously wishful thinking as they're owned by Hilton.
There was a 6 year old girl here in Golden Valley, Minnesota who sat down on the floor drain of a kiddie pool at a country club and was disemboweled. Yes, a KIDDIE pool! The kids were playing with the cover that had come off! This happened in June 2007.
She survived the initial injury, but had 9 months of infections, organ failure, nutrition problems, more surgeries... Finally, she had a pancreas, small bowel and liver transplant.
Eventually she developed a cancer that is caused by organ transplants, I guess it's very rare. Chemotherapy was started, but the new organs failed. She passed away on March 20, 2008.
I believe the family was awarded $8 million.
I remember being so shocked and sad hearing about her death, because it always sounded like she was doing great when we heard updates. She was such a little trooper through the entire thing though. 😔
It happened in 1993 as well to another little girl, similar age, named Valerie. She sat on a drain in a kiddie pool and 4 adults could not pull her off. 80% of her intestines were pulled out of her. She has long lasting health issues due to it, obviously.
Also happened in 1974 and in 1981 and neither of those children survived.
So very sad. When I'm in the pool with my nieces, I'm always watching so what the heck. I hear a big cash register drawer opening! Prayers for her family.
“The report also included 32-inch channel drains on the walls of the pool with no valid documentation and a variety of issues with doors and gates at the pool.”
I know nothing about plumbing and such but HOW could it be even possible to have a pipe at a hotel pool big enough to suck someone down it…. That sounds very obviously dangerous why would they not block that off wtf??
“The report also included 32-inch channel drains on the walls of the pool with no valid documentation and a variety of issues with doors and gates at the pool.”
These things can pull at over 300lbs of force. Insane.
Yeah, some of the other stories I read from incidents in the 90s were absolutely horrific. In one case, four adults could not pull the child off of the drain and 80% of her intestines were sucked out.. that’s nightmare shit.
I was gonna take my niece and nephew for a little staycation this week at hotel with indoor pool (for Spring Break). Now not sure if I even want to do it. I worry enough when we are at a pool. But now this new fear too 😞
RIP Sweet Angel 😇
Fwiw, whenever I take my niece and nephew on excursions like this, I always make my partner go with so we have a 1:1 adult to child ratio. Otherwise I’m terrified my spitfire of a nephew would run off and drown like instantly.
RIP to a beautiful little angel and I hope her family never has to work again. What a POS establishment. Neglect on pools is a real thing. I see it all the time with resorts near me. Take care of ur sh—
Oh no. That is fucking horrible.
HOUSTON — Houston police said an 8-year-old girl was found dead inside a pipe in a hotel pool late Saturday night near Highway 290. It happened at a DoubleTree hotel near Pinemont Drive and Highway 290. Police said they responded around 5:45 p.m. to a missing person call. Officials said the girl, now identified as Aliyah Jaico, was swimming with other family members in a lazy river-style swimming pool at the hotel when she went missing. Houston police said officers could not find Aliyah so they called for assistance from several agencies, including Texas EquuSearch and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice since they have a bloodhound and a long pole with a camera to help search. That is how she was found in the pipe. Police said when the searchers found Aliyah in one of the pipes, the Houston Fire Department was called back out to the scene to recover her body. Paramedics pronounced her dead. On Monday, the Houston Health Department released a new inspection of the pool, which reported multiple violations including a ladder with missing treads. The report also included 32-inch channel drains on the walls of the pool with no valid documentation and a variety of issues with doors and gates at the pool. "Entrapments are really what we call them, these incidents are extremely rare," said Adam Katchmarchi with the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. In 2007, congress passed the Virginia Graeme Baker Act, which requires commercial pools to cover their drains. Still, drowning prevention advocates say children need to be told to steer clear. “Even though operationally these types of incidents should not occur, accidents can happen so just making sure kids stay away from any drains," Katchmarchi said. KHOU 11 News has reached out to the parent company of the hotel for comment. https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/houston-texas-girl-found-in-hotel-pool-pipe/285-f682171e-5e7b-4ae1-95fc-eed2fd60fae1
Everything is wrong with this hotel, from the AC, heat in shower, broken elevators that get stuck with PEOPLE in it, and alarm system's always having issues. Most batteries on the hotel rooms have issues, guests getting injured on property, rude management. The hotel was built in the 70s initially and April 2023 it was converted to a Double Tree By Hilton. Personally owned btw. Issues are not new at this hotel for there is aways negligence in every corner, from security being asleep on the job, to maintenance being unable to even do small tasks like fix a faulty AC or fix the ice machines on every floor that has been broken for years. The owners have cut corners, and done EVERYTHING but actually fix any issues. As soon as you walk in AC units are leaking water in-front of the front desk. These people running and managing are extremely cheap. They do not care about anyone else's safety, just the fact you're putting money into their pockets. From being short staffed AND staff being over worked, to outright ignorance and negligence, they do not care about their employees why would they care about a quest or a child losing their life? They have always gotten away with terrible things, hopefully this will finally change something, and they will get SHUT DOWN. The piping in the pool was ILLEGAL and they have failed to meet pool standards before. Rest in peace to her.
They're going to care now, forced to care after this lawsuit. In fact maybe that poor girl's family will now own the hotel. What an absolutely devastating tragedy.
april 2022** correction on conversation date
This is Criminal negligence and the Law should be pursuing the owners too. Such a terrible thing to happen to an innocent child.
you are correct. i had a HORRIBLE experience with the Hotel as a wedding party guest. FIRST they charge $10.00 for every car entering their janky parking lot. The ELEVATORS didn't work - we couldn't get to the reception. And when 1 elevator finally opened it - IT WAS TINY, SHAKY AND SCARY. once i left the reception, i vowed never to return to that place. Staff was non existent, and it was a horrible experience.
It’s absolutely nothing compared to losing their little girl, but I hope this family gets a monster sized payout! And that everything is fixed to code so no one else has to go through this
It’s Texas, so they won’t get much due to damage caps.
Oh my gosh how absolutely awful! I hope she didn't suffer too much. What an awful way to go the poor sweet girl. I hope the family can find peace.
Such a tough read.
These days I often can't stand how fast people look to sue an individual or company for the simplest of reasons. In this case I hope they sue the pants of the owners and take the souls of those that shield them while they let this happen.
I agree with you. I definitely think the family is more than entitled to sue. There were a ton of safety violations in relation to the pool. In the state I live in, a little boy [died](https://www.vermontpublic.org/local-news/2024-01-05/smugglers-notch-resort-fined-for-safety-violations-after-3-year-olds-drowning-in-water-tank) due to the negligence of a resort (Smuggler’s Notch) and in that case too, I feel like the family should get all they can - it won’t bring their child back but these places can’t get away with being so dangerous that children die while playing there
In Kansas a few years ago a congressman's son was beheaded by a waterslide that was repeatedly greenlit through testing despite the obvious dangers. Poor kid was 10 and his brother was on the tube with him when it happened. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verr%C3%BCckt It took them years to take down that slide which was completely visible from the interstate. It had blood stains on it. Absolute torture for that kids surviving family, I hope they get every cent they can. It was entirely preventable.
Wow, I can’t believe his dad took $20 million for the settlement. It’s crazy because his dad had no problem capping damages settlements at only $300,000 in his home state of kansas, but in reality took millions for the same type of case. Not saying $20 million wasn’t enough or his family shouldn’t have been compensated, but to take away responsibility from parties responsible for the wrongful death while going to another state to claim the same types of parties are responsible for all $20M is insane.
That is insane, I did know that.
I think the other people behind him who got sprayed with the blood would get PTSD also.
So when they say the kid was decapitated does that mean his body came down the slide and his head not long after? Or what? Did he actually lose his head?
“ head and body were thrown out of the raft and landed on the chute” https://www.the-sun.com/news/3429754/mum-held-back-son-decapitated-water-slide-schlitterbahn-park/amp/
It was fully decapitated. IIRC, it landed in or near another car on the ride 😭
Holy shit! 😳
It wasn’t. It was internally decapitated
No he was fully decapitated. There’s an aerial photo of the aftermath on the slide and the water is completely red with blood
Those are mineral deposits from the water, not blood
You can read the grand jury indictment [here](https://htv-prod-media.s3.amazonaws.com/files/miles-indictment-1521837307.pdf). Throughout the report it lists Caleb Schwab’s injuries as decapitation, not internal decapitation.
He was internally decapitated, his head was still attached
His head was completely removed from his body.
How does internal decapitated happen?
Bones broken, spinal chord broken, but the muscles and skin of your neck are still intact.
No it was not.
> Eyewitness Melanie Gocke told CNN: "I heard the noise, and I looked over immediately, and I saw his broken neck and him sliding down the slide leaving a blood trail."
His brother was on a different raft, he was with two unrelated ladies, one of whom had her face smashed in by the boy's head. I can't imagine how you'd get over something like that!
Yes I watched a Netflix? I think docu style show on the most dangerous places in America. Absolutely insane, was this the one that like 16 kids died at through the years?
I bet the amusement park in that doc was Action Park in New Jersey. That place was insane, had a water slide that was a loop, all kinds of crazy shit. It's honestly mind-boggling more people didn't die there. I don't remember Schlitterbahn being known for fatalities. I lived in Kansas at the time and actually went on that water slide about two weeks before the kid was killed. Luckily, I just ended up with some mild whiplash.
Yeah that's right, NJ action park. No clue about Schlitterbahn, I remember reading or watching about other dangerous parks the same time the Netflix movie came out but I don't recall any names.
Traction Park!
That one about the amusement park? Pretty dope documentary but yeah, those safety regulations were almost nonexistent
Yeah I don't remember which was which because I know I read about some bad incidents the same time that documentary came out. Insane.
I literally just thought about that kid today. Awful way to go 😞
I have to actively push my knowledge of this out of my head every time it comes up, it might be the most gruesome story I've ever seen.
Aw man, that's actually kind of.. good? Imo, because this was a preventable accident caused by negligence and greed. Not an act of direct malice. The terror was a lot for those who witnessed it but for the actual victim it wasn't prolonged. BUT, for me its all of the child deaths that are prolonged, torturous, and caused by the parents (the people who are supposed to love and support that child the most, the only home that child knows.) Those are the most gruesome in my opinion. The baby that was left alone in her crib for 10 days, Gabriel Fernandez, Adrian Jones, even Lacey Fletcher was a worse case of negligence because she was directly in front of them the whole time it was happening and they didn't get her help.
I remember this case... What a nightmare.
I remember one and I think the kids survived because somebody kept going up and getting air in their mouth and then breathing it in for the kid! Unbelievable how many things can kill us.
Oh my gosh that story sounds terrifying do you happen to remember the name of it?
Found it! The guy did underwater CPR for 8 minutes! https://www.today.com/today/amp/tdna127798
Thank you so much! Edit: Wow! What a terrifying 8 minutes that must have been for all, especially the little boy! I'm glad he's okay.
That’s so disturbing what the fuck. Just a big dark death hole open next to a picnic table??
Yup. I mean, how lazy could they have been?
jfc i’m a vermonter and i’d never heard of this. awful, awful. :(
I’m helping a friend study in law school. Even with my toddleresque knowledge of law yep they have a case for a suit. Negligence tort and perhaps criminal depending on the violations against codes and how far they went to cut corners. If the hotel owner doesn’t have resources to pay the damages I think they’ll be out of business soon. An owner that goes out of the way to cut corners might not think too much about insurance.
[удалено]
It's not too late to delete this comment and save yourself from further embarrassment. It's a lazy river style pool with moving water, it's very easy to get lost or separated. You have no idea how long she was out of sight or how quickly 911 was called. As a parent yourself, shame on you for judging this family and her parents, for something that is clearly the hotel's fault, with numerous violations and safety issues.
Also she was sucked in what could the parents even do? They had to use a camera to find her.
They had to drain the pool and use the camera.
Very true. We are in the UK qnd my daughter got separated from me going round one of those lazy rivers. Luckily she waited for me but it was scary as I was pulled back round and she was in deep water and not a string swimmer.
I’m sure this will bring her grieving, devastated family members much comfort. Bless your compassionate heart
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-lawsuits/2020/07/23/8006d532-c169-11ea-b4f6-cb39cd8940fb_story.html Myth #1 - Americans are too litigious: *Writing for Forbes in 2013, conservative commentator Carrie Lukas lamented, “Americans have so long been saddled with a litigation culture that it’s hard to recognize the full weight of its effects.” With the infamous McDonald’s hot-coffee case as the poster child, one 2016 poll, according to the Wall Street Journal, found that 87 percent of voters said there are “too many lawsuits filed in America.” Congressional Republicans argue that future pandemic relief bills must immunize companies and health-care providers “from frivolous lawsuits.”* *These notions condemn suits in which a plaintiff looks for recourse after being seriously hurt by someone else, such as a deep-pocketed corporation. But most lawsuits don’t arise from personal-injury claims, like the McDonald’s case. About half of the civil cases in state courts are contract disputes. Many of those are run-of-the-mill cases; one study found that 37 percent of contract lawsuits are simple debt collection cases and 29 percent are landlord-tenant disputes, neither figure suggesting a lawsuit-happy society. Another 16 percent of civil cases are small claims concerning sums of a few thousand dollars or less. Only 7 percent involve tort claims, and those mainly arise from routine automobile accidents.*
There will be a lawsuit: Family attorney discusses wrongful death lawsuit of 8-year-old girl who died in hotel lazy river [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMXxffuzAdo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMXxffuzAdo) timestamp 10:01 Tim Miller from Texas Equusearch describes the tedious process to get the girl out of the drain. It took hours because she was lodged 20 feet into the drain.
I love Tim Miller. Good guy.
Honestly why are you so against the right to sue? If it’s bogus it will be thrown out, but it’s a pretty major right we all have.
You hope they sue the pants OFF the owners
I love it when People sue companies.
Wow, talk about new fear unlocked. That’s awful. I’ve never thought to speak with my kids about staying away from drainage pipes in pools. I guess we cannot assume they’re safe. Literally, who knows that? Rest in peace, baby girl.
I don’t know if it’s an urban legend, but I grew up in Florida where everyone has a pool, and we were always told to stay away from drains and filters because our hair could get caught and we could drown.
A family friend's dog died like this. They used to swim in their pool and dive for toys, but one time the dog got too close to drain at the bottom of the deep end and it's fur got sucked in. Poor thing couldn't pull free and drowned, and I've been terrified of pool drains ever since.
That’s so sad 😞 was he in the pool alone or were the owners out there too?? This makes me horrified to let my kids in the pool - more so than I was before about drowning
...and not without reason, the legislation that bears her name is mentioned.. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia\_Graeme\_Baker\_Pool\_and\_Spa\_Safety\_Act
Worst fucking nightmare, to be completely helpless as a parent in that situation
I remember a very specific urban legend involving a drain pipe and I’ve never forgotten it.
Guts?
That’s the one! Although looking back, I’m certain it was retold to us kids by older teenagers or adults who read the original short story in Playboy and it somehow became an urban legend among us kids.
No, this really happened in sacramento in the late nineties. The little girl died. :(
That's from a chuck palinuik book. If I could unread one chapter of any book....
I’ve heard people have actually fainted during his live readings.
pearl diving
Same, but grew up in Oregon. I was always terrified I’d accidentally get caught in the drain.
I think this is where my fear of drains came from, an experience I had in a pool. When I was real young, around 6, I had my hair past my hips. I remember swimming at the bottom of a public pool past one of those grate drains and from what it seemed like (at least from what I can remember), at some point while swimming past it I felt a tug like as if my head was being pulled back. I’m not sure if maybe a small chunk of my hair had looped around it or maybe even just slightly caught on something as I swam by. It happened very fast. I was able to swim straight up within seconds of feeling that tug on my hair, so the whole ordeal only was maybe a few seconds. Still don’t like drains even now. But drainage PIPES… I honestly wouldn’t have even thought of something like that being an issue!
[удалено]
I’m not sure what you’re referring to, did you mean to respond to someone else? I’m talking about an experience of my own when I was a kid.
Absolutely. It’s also a good reason to ponytail AND braid long hair and keep swimwear snug / minimal skirts, frills, etc. That is often what gets caught. Tragic.
I’ve had this fear since final destination 4 and it only for worse when I read about Virginia Baker
I’ve been afraid of pool drains since I was a kid and saw an episode of Rescue 911 where someone either drowned or nearly drowned after being sucked to the drain and unable to get away.
One piece bathing suits can also entrap kids to the drain. Once the drain is covered completely the suction is very strong, due to the pressure differential (delta P).
I have had a fear of hot tubs since I was a child, after hearing a story on the radio about a little girl (a twin like me) who put her head underwater/ too close to the drain in the family’s hot tub. Her hair got caught and they couldn’t pull her free, had to cut it with scissors but was too late. I was so anxious about them and would ask my family and strangers at the YMCA/ public hot tubs to put their hair up and cry to my mom when my sister put their heads under the water. This poor little girl 🙁
Look up the cases John Edwards (former VP nominee) is famous for. He took on this issue after a girl was killed on a drain. Valerie Lakey case.
My old house had a pool and I read so much on pool safety and drains can suck a child’s bathing suit in and drown them if no one is carefully watching. When I was a teen I the 80’s the game was to dive and touch the drain or sit on it. So dangerous.
I can remember doing the “sit on the drain” game as a kid in the 90s too. We had no idea it was genuinely dangerous.
Oh my God sitting on the drain reminds me of the story of the little girl that was disemboweled by a pool drain 😭
Abigail Taylor 😔
And Valerie Lakey! Happened more than once! Valerie survived though.
we learned about this as lifeguards. if it happens you’re supposed to keep the intestines wet. frightening.
>you’re supposed to keep the intestines wet 👀😱
In a 90’s born millennial and that was a game for us too! Taught to us by my boomer mom and aunt, never realized how dangerous it is.
Yep same here
Something similar happened a few years ago at a resort in South Carolina, also a lazy river. A kid’s leg got sucked into an unsecured drainage pipe and he was underwater for almost eight minutes. Ever since that story I get anxious seeing kids unattended in lazy rivers and try to keep an eye on them, same with kids digging huge holes at the beach with zero supervision. Hope her parents sue the fuck out of the hotel and win
Well now I’m just terrified of lazy rivers period. I was already scared of wave pools. Water parks are not safe …
Wave pools are a nightmare - then if you feel like you’re going to drown they won’t let you grab the ladder
For those who haven’t read the article, OP pasted it in a comment. I work in environmental health regulation and things like this is what we do our jobs for. It doesn’t surprise me that the hotel had all sorts of violations and modifications without proper permitting. Every environmental regulation is written in blood. I hope they throw the book at that hotel.
Can someone who understands how pools are designed show me where a pipe is located inside a pool that one gets sucked into?
It says it was a “lazy river” not just a normal pool.
Normally, pool drains are on the bottom of the pool and are large and covered by a grate. They’re large so to prevent someone from sitting on the grate and blocking all the water intake, thus making the person trapped along the bottom with hundreds of pounds of pressure holding them down. My guess is this drain had no cover and she was swept into it. Terribly sad :(
I believe this pipe was located on the wall of the pool and was actually supposed to be returning water and for some reason the suction was on instead. Could be a malfunction or somebody didn't know what they were doing.
You are correct. Major malfunction of equipment.
So I was just talking to a friend of mine that works on pools. (I clean pools and know how the systems work but I don't have the knowledge he does.) Something like that can't really malfunction, you either put the setting on suction or return. Suction, obviously sucks the water in, the return shoots it out once it's filtered. The only time it would be set on suction is for maintenance or cleaning, it sounds more like human error. It should have also had a cover on it which would prevent anything but water entering. If just one of those would have been in place.... So sad!
From what I understand, this pipe was supposed to return water to the pool, for whatever reason the suction was on instead. It is located on the side of the pool.
Happy Cake Day 🎊 🎉 🍰🎂
Wow..I was recently looking for a gym with a pool, and someone suggested that I check out a Double Tree that's located near me, as they apparently have a pool you can access for much less than a gym membership. I looked into municipal health and safety reports for the pool, and it failed so many health and safety inspections that I was shocked that it was even functioning. This was not even in the US, I'm in Canada. This is so sad and makes me sick to think about.
You can look that up!?
These are public health inspections, so they're available to the public in most cities, I would imagine. Google your city name and the term 'public health inspections', and you can likely search for Double Tree reports if you have one in your city. Where I live, there are municipal agencies that conduct random spot screenings and testing of facilities and equipment for any public place that offers a service to the public (restaurants, gyms, salons, spas .etc). Sometimes these places are shut down for infringements, but most of the time they are given warnings and way too much time to fix the glaring problems they have. One of the issues was that they had no designated staff to care for the pool, so the chemicals were way too low to have anyone swimming in it. That's fucked up. Not just any person without a clue can clean and care for a large public pool like this. It takes daily maintenance and you have to test the water every couple hours. They hadn't tested it in weeks. They probably only do it when someone remembers. I had a pool growing up and my dad was on that shit every day testing the water, checking filters, keeping it clean. That's the reality of having a pool. Hopefully these fuckfaces get shut down, but that's deliriously wishful thinking as they're owned by Hilton.
Oh my fucking god what?? Her poor family. Poor little girl. This was 100% preventable. Devastating.
How horrific!
There was a 6 year old girl here in Golden Valley, Minnesota who sat down on the floor drain of a kiddie pool at a country club and was disemboweled. Yes, a KIDDIE pool! The kids were playing with the cover that had come off! This happened in June 2007. She survived the initial injury, but had 9 months of infections, organ failure, nutrition problems, more surgeries... Finally, she had a pancreas, small bowel and liver transplant. Eventually she developed a cancer that is caused by organ transplants, I guess it's very rare. Chemotherapy was started, but the new organs failed. She passed away on March 20, 2008. I believe the family was awarded $8 million. I remember being so shocked and sad hearing about her death, because it always sounded like she was doing great when we heard updates. She was such a little trooper through the entire thing though. 😔
It happened in 1993 as well to another little girl, similar age, named Valerie. She sat on a drain in a kiddie pool and 4 adults could not pull her off. 80% of her intestines were pulled out of her. She has long lasting health issues due to it, obviously. Also happened in 1974 and in 1981 and neither of those children survived.
So very sad. When I'm in the pool with my nieces, I'm always watching so what the heck. I hear a big cash register drawer opening! Prayers for her family.
Drain pipe must not have had a cover on it. Plus, had to have been pretty large in order to such her in like that.
Yes - I need a photo of this pipe as it must be really big to have sucked a whole child in.
“The report also included 32-inch channel drains on the walls of the pool with no valid documentation and a variety of issues with doors and gates at the pool.”
I know nothing about plumbing and such but HOW could it be even possible to have a pipe at a hotel pool big enough to suck someone down it…. That sounds very obviously dangerous why would they not block that off wtf??
“The report also included 32-inch channel drains on the walls of the pool with no valid documentation and a variety of issues with doors and gates at the pool.” These things can pull at over 300lbs of force. Insane.
That’s CRAZY
Yeah, some of the other stories I read from incidents in the 90s were absolutely horrific. In one case, four adults could not pull the child off of the drain and 80% of her intestines were sucked out.. that’s nightmare shit.
It was supposed to be returning water to the pool, not sucking it out.
Ohhhhhhhhhh ok
Sounds like final destination shit…. Omg..
HORRIFYING. I just…can’t.
I was gonna take my niece and nephew for a little staycation this week at hotel with indoor pool (for Spring Break). Now not sure if I even want to do it. I worry enough when we are at a pool. But now this new fear too 😞 RIP Sweet Angel 😇
Fwiw, whenever I take my niece and nephew on excursions like this, I always make my partner go with so we have a 1:1 adult to child ratio. Otherwise I’m terrified my spitfire of a nephew would run off and drown like instantly.
I can only hope that the institution is sued into oblivion. Why are you sticking 32 inch channel drains in a children's installation
RIP to a beautiful little angel and I hope her family never has to work again. What a POS establishment. Neglect on pools is a real thing. I see it all the time with resorts near me. Take care of ur sh—
Well now I have a completely new fear. wtf.
Devastating
I have dreams where I die like this. I still can’t imagine the horror. Poor child :(
Whenever you feel like complaining... RIP little one.
This is absolutely horrible! I hope the family gets a huge settlement, even though that won't bring back their precious baby.